The Chronicles of Azure
by TheGolurker
Summary: Azure moves to the peaceful town of Wildfire. All seems well until he falls victim to nightmarish circumstances... (Anything more would give too much away. Also has intermittent bits of snarky humor)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello there! This is the Golurker, making my fanfic debut! Bit of background, the story originally was an episodic series sent via Swapnote, but given the discontinuation of its SpotPass functionality, it never got completed. Here, I hope to finish what I started, as well as flesh out that story more without that pesky ink limit. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter 1: A Peaceful Prologue**_

_Ch-chak ch-chak… Ch-chak ch-chak…_

I awoke to the rhythmic sound of a train rolling along on the tracks. Once my eyes had adjusted to the bright lights of the train car, I lifted my head to see an anthropomorphic cat seated across from me. The feline stared at me inquisitively, eager to break the ice. He introduced himself as Rover and started asking me questions like what my name and where my destination is, which struck me as a bit strange. It wasn't the fact that he was a talking cat, but that his name was Rover. Isn't that a dog's name? In any case, I responded to his inquiries in turn.

"My name is Azure, and I'm on my way to a town called Wildfire."

He was certainly very outgoing, continuing the conversation with a great big smile on his face, which offset his otherwise ominous red eyes. We kept on chatting the time away about his past and interest in trains until-

_Ding! We have arrived at Wildfire Station. Please watch your step when exiting the train._

Having reached my stop, I waved good-bye to my newfound feline friend, and stepped off onto the station platform. Upon exiting the station, I was taken aback by the beautiful scenery that lay before me in this warm, beachside town. There were two majestic waterfalls on either side of the landscape. The one to my left poured fiercely down into the ocean, whereas the one on my right fed the meandering river that flowed across the center of town. I could see the various resident's houses scattered throughout, including a particularly tall castle-like structure at the far end of the area. Before I could stand in awe at the sight of my new hometown much longer, I was greeted by a youthful kid with fiery orange hair in a messy, unkempt style. He was the same height as I was with a childish face, but I had a feeling he was older than his appearance suggested. For some reason, he was wearing nothing but a grass skirt and a bandage on his face. My guess was he came straight from a hula dancing contest. Either that, or he wanted to put the "wild" in Wildfire.

"Hi there!" He greeted cheerfully, "You must be Azure, the new guy who's moving in to this fine town! My name is Slash, and I'm the mayor here! Lemme give ya the Wildfire Grand Tour!"

He guided me around the entire village, introducing me to the other residents, as well as showing me the main landmarks. I also become fast friends with Lucky the laid-back mummy dog, and the dance fanatic mouse, Chadder. After the excursion had concluded, the orange-haired mayor asked, "Now that you've seen it all, have ya decided where ya wanna build your house?" After some consideration, I chose to have it built near the bridge at the center of town, which the locals have dubbed "Lunar Bridge" because of it's great view of the night sky.

"Alrighty then! I'll talk to Tom Nook about getting your house set up, Azure! I'll even take care of your housing expenses for ya! …Under one condition."

Curious of what the caveat could be, I asked what it was.

"Well, I'm currently doing some scientific research on bettering the lives of Wildfire's residents. Though I have made some progress, I'm kinda suffering from a lack of work space at the moment… What I'm asking is to be able to use your house as my research lab. But not the whole house! I just need one room. I'll provide ya with a nice, cozy bedroom upstairs! Ya can even crash at my place until construction is completed! Whaddya say?"

It was quite a generous deal, even if I have one less room to myself. And besides, his work will do much good for everyone in the town, right? With not a second wasted, I took him up on his offer.

As the sun set, we made our way over to his house overlooking the ocean, the same looming structure I saw all the way from the station. Being the mayor certainly has its perks. As the last rays of daylight faded from the sky, I laid down in a comfy hammock in the main room of Slash's expansive island-themed home. Before closing my eyes to sleep, I took a moment to reflect on the events that transpired that day. Getting a home in a peaceful and picturesque village, receiving help from an eccentric, yet generous mayor; befriending the quirky, but still relatable residents… I thought life could only get better from there.

Oh, how very,_ very_ wrong that statement would turn out to be… Little did I know, I would soon long the company that furry ferroequinologist I met earlier on my journey here…


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: A Nefarious Nightmare**_

When I awoke the next day, I was lying on the ground face-first. After spitting out a mouthful of sand, I scanned my surroundings, which was still the simulated tropical environment of the Mayor's home I slept in yesterday. From the looks of it, I must've fallen out of my hammock in the middle of night and somehow stayed asleep through the impact. Or perhaps I suffered a mild concussion and just remembered none of it.

Upon further analysis of the room, I realized my gracious host was nowhere to be found. Thinking he went out for a morning walk, I stepped outside… only to be greeted by Slash with an expression of impatient glee and anticipation.

"I was wondering when you'd finally wake up, Azure! Don't ya know how long I was waiting?!" Judging by the messier-than-usual condition of his orange hair, I'm guessing it wasn't very long. "Oh well, that doesn't matter right now," he continued, "I've got something to show you!". Before I could even utter a word, he grabbed me by the wrist and ran north past his house, all the while weaving his way through stalks of bamboo at a breakneck pace.

When he finally stopped, we stood before a solidly built two-story house. Not as grandiose as the Mayor's residence, naturally, but it certainly looked like a nice place to live. "I've already had the Nook team install the lab equipment to my exact specifications, which saved me a ton of time! Now let's take a look inside!"

The lab area itself was very spacious, but with the sheer amount of scientific instruments, it made the place very tightly packed. And when I say "scientific instruments", I use the term very loosely. There were the expected assortments of microscopes, beakers, and flasks, but there were plenty of other objects that seemed very out of place. There was a small assortment of gym equipment off in one corner, a group of four gyroids off in another, as well as a rainbow-assortment of pickles stuffed in a jar balanced precariously on top of a cardboard box. Calling it a strange sight wouldn't even begin to describe it.

"So, pal, whaddya think of my new lab?"

"It sure is… like nothing I've ever seen before…"

"Well of course it isn't! This place is one-of-a-kind, just like me! Ahahahahahaha!"

There was definitely no arguing with that statement. But I still couldn't wrap my mind around on how all these random implements could possibly be used in any meaningful way. So I asked him what kind of experiments he would be working on.

"Hmm… let's see… energy drinks, therapeutic effects of gyroids, dream research, and a whole bunch of… other things." I suppose those first two would explain the exercise machines and gyroid quartet, but the pickles? "Uh, I get kinda hungry sometimes… scientific research sure does wonders on one's appetite! But in any case, how 'bout I show ya your new room already!" With not a moment to spare, we traveled up the staircase of my new home.

My bedroom was significantly smaller than the laboratory below, but it was still warm and inviting, even if the décor seemed to have come from a day-care center. As juvenile as the room was, I didn't want to come of as ungrateful, so I still thanked him for everything he'd done for me.

"Actually, I should be the one thanking you! Without you, this place wouldn't even be built!"

After a moment of hesitation, he continued on, "I hate to ask this right after seeing your new house, but would ya mind helping me with a few of my experiments today?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

The rest of the day went by in flash, filled with workouts, chemistry, brain scans, and a particularly awkward incident involving reflective body paint. Exhausted by the day's hectic and mildly peculiar chain of events, I laid down on my soft, plushy bed and soon fell into slumber while the stars twinkled in the sky… Then it happened.

**Author's Note: The following scene gets very graphic; if you are particularly squeamish, I would strongly recommend to skip this section with the knowledge that many horrible things take place. However, if you're feeling brave enough, by all means, read on.**

I found myself laying down on a sinister looking metal table, my body completely exposed to the chilled air of the laboratory. My arms and legs were restrained, with cold metal cuffs squeezing my wrists and ankles like a vice. The room was blindingly bright and illuminated in a eerie yellowish-tint, due to the absence of natural sunlight to balance out the synthetic lighting. An ominous figure shifted into view, holding a crudely fashioned blade unsettlingly close to my chest. Against the stark contrast of the ambient light, I couldn't make out the features of this entity's shadowy face, save for its maliciously toothy grin.

"Well hello there…" it greeted, with a voice emanating sadism, "I hear you're new in town, so I thought I might give you a proper welcome…" The figure raised the jagged piece of metal it wielded in its hand as it spoke, allowing the implement to glint in the room's jaundiced luminosity.

"Heh heh heh… Why don't you and I have us a little… fun…"

The blade made a painfully deep incision in the center of my chest, its edge slowly gliding all the way down to my abdomen. The entity leaned in to lap up some of the blood that seeped out of the large cut carved in my torso. The malefactor shuddered with joy as it licked the sanguine substance off its lips, further fueling its maniacal bloodlust. I couldn't help but writhe in the severe agony of the injury. Perhaps perceiving my actions as a futile attempt of escape, the bloodthirsty creature held down my neck to the metal slab with its free hand.

"Hey now, don't leave yet, we're just getting started…"

Laying the knife aside, the other hand reached inside the bloody gaping crevasse in my body and swiftly grabbed a chunk of organic matter, which I presumed to be my liver. As I witnessed the savage sinking its teeth relentlessly into it, every fiber of my being wanted to scream toward the heavens, but it was an impossible task. The grip on my neck was so strong, I couldn't utter a sound aside from a few weak, barely-audible whimpers.

The creature continued chewing on its ill-begotten feast, messily spraying the contents thereof throughout the surrounding area. After letting loose a devilish moan of satisfaction over its recent meal, the beast resumed its cutting frenzy, making incision after agonizing incision in each of my limbs. The pain I felt only kept getting worse as more and more of my blood continued to escape from my body. After making countless more lacerations in my exposed flesh, the sadistic "surgeon" froze in place, panting heavily.

"Haah… haah… Now… that was… haah… very satisfying… However… the best part… has yet to come!"

Immediately after it uttered those words, I felt an excruciatingly acute sting in my pelvis… as I was literally dis_member_ed by a jagged edge. Unable to bear the torment of my afflictions any longer, I slowly faded into unconsciousness, with blood flowing out between my legs and tears streaming down my face…


End file.
